Page 25 of Darlin'

"That?" I ask as we walk toward his bike. "What does she mean bythat?"

Nothing," he mutters. "Ignore her."

"Great...she gonna hate me, isn't she?" I ask, mentally and physically exhausted.

"Probably." Jesse glances over his shoulder, wincing as Andy stares at us, fuming with her arms crossed. "Definitely."

"Well, that's just peachy," I mutter, yanking the helmet from his hands. "Day one, and I've already got enemies."

Jesse laughs. "Welcome to Sons of Sorrow, princess."

CHAPTER 8

An Acquired Taste

"This iswhen we went to the Grand Canyon," Marlow gushes, scrolling through the photo gallery on her phone as we bask in a momentary lull of customers. Her bright smile illuminates the bar as she zooms into the image of her kissing my brother. I shift uncomfortably beside her, and she shoots me an apologetic side-eye. "Sorry, you probably don't wanna see that, huh?"

"No, it's fine," I mumble, leaning against the back of the bar as a tinge of jealousy tugs at my heartstrings. We had the Grand Canyon onourbucket list. It was number four. "You guys sure seem to travel a lot, huh?"

"Oh, totally," Marlow says. "Once we have enough saved, we're off for a week or two. We try and fuck off at least once every six weeks."

"Wow," I hum, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "Lucky you."

"Right?" She grins, continuing to scroll through pictures of Beau living his best life. "Oh, this is when we went to Miami..."

When Marlow offered to show me some recent photos of Beau, I didn't think it would lead me into a place of dark envy. I figured I would feel closer to my brother if I got a glimpse into his life, but I feel further away from him than I have since he left.

I should be happy for him, but it's so unfair.

He's traveled all around the country. Colorado. Nevada. Tennessee. New York. All the placeswewanted to visittogether. But he went without me. Those memories were supposed to beours. We were supposed to see all fifty states and then decide which one we liked the most. Alabama is nice and all, but we've always wanted to live somewhere more vibrant, more bustling, and definitely far away from the parental units.

"Stop," I blurt out as Marlow lands on a photo with a familiar landscape looming in the background. I narrow my pained eyes, zooming into the USS Alabama Battleship. "Is this..." I swallow. I don't need to ask. I already know the answer, and it hurts. "Is that Mobile?"

"Yeah," Marlow replies, scrunching her nose. "Why..." She tilts her head, noticing my teary gaze. "Hey, you okay? What's?—"

"You guys were in Alabama?" My tone trembles with disappointment. He was a couple of hours from home—fromme. And he didn't visit? "When...when was this?"

"Shit," Marlow says, instant realization smacking her upside the head. She winces, quietly replying, "Maybe a year ago? Around Christmas?"

"Oh," I mutter, hanging my head as I stare at my designer heels. “That’s nice..."

"Hey..." Marlow places a delicate hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure Beau had his reasons, right? Maybe..." She shrugs. "Maybe he was embarrassed or something? Maybe he thought you'd hate him."

I snap my head at Marlow. "I couldneverhate him. He's my brother. I love him."

"Heisvery lovable." She smiles at me, her chest rising as her eyes go all googly. I can't help but smile back. Marlow's in love. I don't blame her. If she knows the same Beau that I used to know, then she stands zero chance. Her lips twist up in contemplation. "Do you wanna...do you wanna maybe give him a call?" She swallows. "JP doesn't like it when I call Beau while he's out on a deal. Apparently, it distracts him or whatever, but maybe..."

"A deal?" I stare her phone, the urge to snap it from her hands growing stronger each second. "What kind of deal?"

"Really?" Marlow lifts an obvious brow. "He sure as hell isn't shaking hands with Howie Mandel if that's where you're thinking."

"Howie Mandel is a germaphobe," I mutter, flicking my nails. "He doesn't shake hands."

Marlow blinks at my random factoid. "Whatever, you know what I mean." She wiggles her phone in front of my face like a dog treat. "So? Should we call him?" She looks over at the clubhouse entrance. "JP's not here yet. Come on, let's call."

"Um..."

Jesse doesn't want Marlow to distract Beau. Maybe that's why he didn't want me to talk to him earlier. Beau's not on a little getaway with his motorcycle friends rightnow. No. He's conducting business. Dealings. It's definitely something illegal. Probably something dangerous.

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